Spurs beat Clippers for 16th straight time

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — George Hill had 14 points and a career-high 11 assists to help the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the 16th straight time, 118-88 Saturday night.

Matt Bonner scored 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting to lead the Spurs, who have the longest winning streak by one team against another. Richard Jefferson added 18 points and nine rebounds. The Spurs (39-25), winners of three straight and six of seven, moved into sixth place in the Western Conference by .003 over the idle Phoenix Suns (40-26). Fourteen of San Antonio<s remaining 18 games are against teams with .500-or-better records, compared to eight of 16 for Phoenix.

Baron Davis scored 18 of his team-high 22 points in the first half for the Clippers, who last defeated the Spurs in March 2006. The loss was Los Angeles' 15th straight in San Antonio, dating back to January 2002.

Bonner summed up the Spurs' night late in the third period when he hit a baseline jumper that went over the top of the backboard from behind. By the 1:40 mark of the quarter, each of the Spurs' starters was done for the night.

DeAndre Jordan summed up the Clippers' night with an airball on a free-throw attempt with less than a minute left.

The Spurs rolled to a 22-point lead late in the second quarter before settling for a 65-48 lead at the break despite not attempting their first free throw until Hill's with 2:02 remaining in the half.

The Clippers closed the gap to 13 with a brief flurry to open the second half, but San Antonio regained control and carried a 90-68 lead into the final period.

San Antonio took the lead for good at 6-5 on a layup by Manu Ginobili, who, along with All-Star forward Tim Duncan, saw little playing time after the first quarter. Ginobili had 14 points in 19 minutes, and Duncan totaled eight — all in the first 6:23 of the game — in 13.

Hill had eight assists in the first quarter as the Spurs sprinted to a 32-18 lead. He surpassed his previous career-best nine assists just before halftime.

NOTES: The Spurs on Saturday signed Garrett Temple from the Rio Grande Vipers of the NBA Developmental League to a 10-day contract. Temple, who has seen NBA time this season with the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings, is the fourth former D-League player on the current Spurs roster, joining Malik Hairston, Cedric Jackson and Ian Mahinmi. Temple did not suit up; the other three were on the floor for the final 8 minutes of the game. ... The Spurs are 6-6 in second games of back-to-backs, but have won their past three. ... Tony Parker, who missed his fourth straight game with a fractured fourth metacarpal, was the last Spur before Hill to record 10 or more assists in a half, totaling 11 in the first half of San Antonio's 2008 regular-season finale against the Utah Jazz. ... The Clippers (25-42) clinched a losing record for the third straight season and the 16th in the past 17.